Hoteliers’ Voice

Learn how independent hotels can increase direct bookings and reduce reliance on online travel agencies (OTAs) with Sleeping Bear Hotels and Formula. Discover actionable strategies that can help direct bookings thrive in a competitive market.
In today’s competitive hotel landscape, many independent hotels struggle with high reliance on online travel agencies (OTAs) for bookings. This reliance cutz into profits significantly, often leading to frustration for hotel owners.

With Tudor Hopkins, founder, Sleeping Bear Hotels and Adam Hamadache, CEO and Founder, Formula – digital growth agency for hotels we explore how Sleeping Bear Hotels successfully reduced their OTA dependency and increased direct bookings.

Understanding the Impact of OTA Reliance. Sleeping Bear Hotels, highlights that when he took over, the hotel was generating 60% of its bookings through OTAs. This reliance not only affected profit margins but also reduced the ability to engage directly with guests.
High OTA commissions severely impact profitability. By shifting focus to direct bookings, hotels can keep more revenue in-house and build stronger relationships with guests.
Tudor’s journey started with a shift in business model, removing unprofitable services and focusing solely on room bookings. He streamlined operations, which allowed for better pricing strategies and increased occupancy rates.
The Role of Partnerships in Driving Revenue. Sleeping Bear Hotels took an innovative approach by partnering with local restaurants and attractions.

Recorded live from HOSPA edinburgh event Next Wave Hospitality: Tech Transformation that delivers sponsored by Focus on Hospitality with
Mike Baxtor, House of Gods
Barry Makin, GM, Cromlix Hotel
Lorraine Garvie, Head of Commercial Operations, Crieff Hydro

We get their take on the changes in hospitality and guest experiences, what it will take to stand out and how they’re addressing tech and digital transformation.
We ask
How are hospitality perceptions shifting for your business?
Where is the role of AI and automation both in operations and guest experience?
With IT infrastructure changing quickly, where's your focus?
Where's the line of digitalised guest journeys to human?

We’re on Fistral Beach in Newquay for something special. In this episode of Hoteliers’ Voice, I get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of The Headland Hotel with Kai Sinkevicius, Assistant Operations Manager, as we explore what five-star hospitality really looks like on the Cornish coast.
From the grand lobby and recently refurbished restaurant to the cottages, spa and Aqua Club, this is a story about heritage, reinvestment and the power of family values. But more than that, it’s about people. Kai's journey from porter at 18 to senior leadership, and the pride shared by long-serving team members, says everything about the culture being built here.
What We Explore
- From Porter to Leader: How rotational training, mentorship and industry qualifications are shaping the next generation of hospitality talent.
- Sustainability in Action: Why EarthCheck silver, local sourcing and conscious refurbishment are embedded in daily decision making.
- Community at the Core: How family ownership, long service and local partnerships create loyalty that guests can feel.
We walk through rooms transformed during lockdown, a ballroom reupholstered by a local seamstress, and suites designed to frame uninterrupted Atlantic views. We talk about levelling the seasonality curve in Cornwall, investing year-round, and building experiences that keep guests returning for weddings, birthdays and multi-generational stays.
There’s also a strong message about perception. Hospitality is too often seen as a fallback career, yet here is a business investing in young people, visiting schools and championing the industry as a genuine profession. With over 450 years of combined service celebrated at one long-service dinner, it’s clear that loyalty runs deep.
The Headland blends heritage with evolution. It embraces sustainability without losing soul. It nurtures talent instead of waiting for it to appear. And standing on that coastline, looking out over the Atlantic, you can feel that this is more than just a hotel. It’s a community.
Hoteliers' Voice is one of FeedSpot's top Hospitality Podcasts and is produced by Urban Podcasts.

We talk a lot about digital channels, distribution and pricing strategy, but what happens when the guest actually walks through the door? In this episode of Hoteliers’ Voice, I sit down with Gail Peters from the Q Hotels Collection and Geoffrey Toffetti from Frontline Performance Group to explore what they call “last mile revenue”.
With 19 four-star hotels across Great Britain, Q Hotels had the scale, the rooms and the opportunity. What they needed was consistency, visibility and a structured way to empower front office teams to enhance the guest experience while driving incremental revenue. The result has been a people-first programme that blends technology, training and recognition in a way that is delivering measurable impact.
What You’ll Discover
- What Last Mile Revenue Really Means: Why check-in is your final opportunity to influence room revenue and enhance the guest journey.
- From Inconsistent Upselling to Structured Success: How integrating with the PMS, training “champions” and setting clear targets created alignment across 14 hotels.
- The Commercial Impact of Empowered Teams: How Q Hotels achieved just under 40% uplift in incremental revenue and set sights on a 1 to 2 percent RevPAR impact.
What stands out most is the virtuous cycle. When expectations are clear, performance is visible and success is shared, guests enjoy better experiences, staff see the benefit in their pay packets and hotels unlock revenue that would otherwise be left on the table.
If you are an independent hotelier wondering how to drive incremental spend without relying solely on digital tactics, this conversation offers a practical blueprint grounded in real results. Technology matters, but as this episode makes clear, people remain the last mile.
Hoteliers' Voice is one of FeedSpot's top Hospitality Podcasts and is produced by Urban Podcasts.

At the HOSPA regional event in Manchester, hosted by Focus on Hospitality, we brought together three operators who are right at the sharp end of regulation, compliance and commercial pressure. With Rob McGlynn from Supercity Aparthotels, Kelly Cronin from Village Hotels and Matthew Bell from Mollie’s, we explore what it really takes to stay profitable, compliant and future-ready in a fast-shifting landscape.
From Airbnb regulation and business rates to data privacy, AI and guest expectations, this is an honest, practical conversation about protecting your business without losing sight of what hospitality is actually about.
What We Explore
- The Uneven Playing Field: Why short-term lets, ghost kitchens and inconsistent regulation are creating a compliance tax for responsible operators.
- Data, Direct and the Battle for Loyalty: How anonymised bookings, OTAs and fragmented systems are reshaping customer ownership.
- Experience Over Everything: Why the real differentiator is still how you make people feel, even as AI and automation reshape operations.
We hear how Supercity’s lean apart-hotel model is feeling the strain of rising business rates and wage increases, while campaigning for fairer regulation. Village Hotels shares the complexity of building a unified customer view across hotels, leisure clubs, co-working and retail, all while navigating data compliance and evolving guest expectations. Mollie’s brings the perspective of a challenger brand balancing value-led design, B Corp ambitions and the realities of scaling responsibly.
There is frustration here, especially around short-term political thinking and the lack of long-term vision for hospitality. But there is also optimism. Whether it is using bots to remove admin so teams can focus on guests, rethinking loyalty, or doubling down on community and wellbeing, the message is clear. Compliance matters, but connection wins.
Hoteliers' Voice is one of FeedSpot's top Hospitality Podcasts and is produced by Urban Podcasts.